NFC mobile phone payments only months away but are Apple opting out?

NFC or Near Field Communication contactless payment technology is expected to be here in the UK by as early as this summer due to an agreement between Barclaycard and Everything Everywhere - the name given to the partnership between Orange and T-Mobile.

The NFC concept is simple - customers will be able to pay for their shopping simply by waving their enabled mobile phone in front of a payment point. The technology behind it though is clearly innovative - Barclays have described it as the “biggest revolution in payment technology since the invention of the credit card.”

Over 40,000 establishments in the UK are expected to implement the new system as soon as it becomes available. Though at present the NFC payment route will only work on the Google Nexus S it will soon be featured on many other models from Samsung and Blackberry.

Significantly however industry rumours are circulating that Apple, who were widely expected to follow suit, have decided not to include an NFC embedded chip in their iPhone 5, blaming a lack of established standard in the industry. If true this development will not only be surprising but will be likely to put competitors such as Google at a distinct advantage.

Though Barclaycard are leading the way it seems inevitable that where they go others will follow. Such developments are demonstrative of the amount of untapped potential the mobile phone holds and will only go to further cement the reliance we place on them in our day to day lives.

As exciting as this development is however it represents yet another area that businesses will need to consider when developing a comprehensive mobile communication strategy.


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